AREA: 756,626 sq km (292,135 sq miles).
POPULATION: 14,419,000 (1996).
POPULATION DENSITY: 19.0 per sq km.
CAPITAL: Santiago (de Chile). Population: 5,076,808 (1995).
GEOGRAPHY: Chile is situated in South America, bounded to the north
by Peru, to the east by Bolivia and Argentina, to the west by the Pacific and
to the south by the Antarctic. The country exercises sovereignty over a number
of islands off the coast, including the Juan Fernández Islands and Easter
Island.
Chile is a remarkably shaped country; a ribbon
of land, 4200km (2610 miles) long and nowhere more than 180km (115 miles)
wide. The Andes and a coastal highland range take up one-third or half of the
width in parts, and run parallel with each other from north to south. The
coastal range forms high, sloped cliffs into the sea from the northern to the
central area. Between the ranges runs a fertile valley, except in the north
where transverse ranges join the two major ones, and in the far south where
the sea has broken through the coastal range to form an assortment of
archipelagos and channels.
The country contains wide variations of soil and vast differences of
climate. This is reflected in the distribution of the population, and in the
wide range of occupations from area to area. The northern part of the country
consists mainly of the Atacama Desert, the driest in the world. It is also the
main mining area. The central zone is predominantly agricultural. The south is
forested and contains some agriculture; further south, the forests on the
Atlantic side give way to rolling grassland on which sheep and cattle are
raised.
GOVERNMENT: Republic. Gained independence from Spain in 1818.
Head of State and Government: President Ricardo Lagos Escobar since
2000.
LANGUAGE: The official language is Spanish, but English is widely
spoken.
